Spring is in the air

Ah, the rites of spring. Warm breezes, a yellow of haze of pollen coating car hoods, lazy thoughts of sunshiny days at the beach ... and Reid Evans' new hairstyle.

Evans, a former star at Phoebus High and Old Dominion's leading wide receiver, can be counted upon to be sporting a new 'do at the start of spring practice, which began Friday for the Monarchs. After trading in his high-school trademark braids for a closely cropped look last season, Evans smiled broadly into television cameras at ODU's Powhatan Sports Complex with a fluffy near-Mohawk, shorn short on the sides to emphasize a thick strip of springy curls.

Ever cheerful, Evans was also serious, focused on the work that was to begin in a few hours in the first of the Monarchs' 15 spring workouts, culminating in April 23's spring game.

"My goal is to always get better and be better than I was last year," said Evans, who had 55 catches for 616 yards and six touchdowns as ODU went 8-3 in 2010. "No one's ever perfect. You've always got to work on something."

Evans, a rising redshirt junior, said he's improved his strength, speed and route-running during his college career. His improvement, and ODU's collective growth, will be put to the test in 2011, when the Monarchs play a full Colonial Athletic Association schedule - starting with a Sept. 24 game at 2010 national runner-up Delaware.

"We've got better competition this year and I'm very excited, but really, the first game I'm focused on is Campbell," Evans said.

Wise words, no doubt. ODU, which lost its season opener to Jacksonville last season, opens 2011 at home against Campbell on Sept. 3.

Games at Georgia State and against nearby rival Hampton follow before a trip to Delaware that rising senior defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron, who played at CAA member Hofstra before the Pride folded its football program in 2009, knows from experience will be unlike anything the Monarchs, used to playing to friendly sellout crowds at 20,000-seat Foreman Field, have seen.

"It's almost the same type of atmosphere as at home, but it's a hostile atmosphere," Cameron said. "They love football up there. They don't have a pro team, so Delaware is like their pro team.

"It's going to be a little bit of a shock for us, (but) once you're between the white lines, that's all that matters."

Like Evans, ODU coach Bobby Wilder also emphasized that his team is focusing on each opponent. But Wilder, who played at CAA member Maine and was an assistant coach with the Black Bears for 17 seasons, is eager to return to conference play after two seasons as an FCS independent with little playoff chance outside of a perfect season.

"It's so exciting to be back in the CAA," Wilder said. "It's great that we have been able to be the best startup program in FCS history (17-5 in two years), but not being part of a league - there was something missing. You could feel it."

Wilder said his players have already began watching film of CAA teams. The Monarchs are quite familiar with one conference foe - William and Mary, which beat ODU 21-17 last Sept. 18 on a fourth-quarter touchdown in a tight game marked by several personal fouls against the Monarchs that drew some pointed postgame comments from Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock.

The teams' rematch comes Nov. 12 in a regular-season finale in Williamsburg.

While excited to be returning to a league he last coached in in 2006, Wilder knows the CAA - which has produced the national title winner or runner-up every year since 2007 - is a different animal than Chowan or Savannah State, weak-sister teams the Monarchs have faced in their first two seasons. The coach won't specify an ideal CAA victory total, but he wants his team to approach each game - including a trip to 2009 national champion Villanova on Oct. 22 - with a winning attitude.

"I would like us to have the mindset that we're going to compete for a championship, because that will be the foundation of our program," Wilder said.